Analysis of King Leontes' Transformation Essay

The ability of passion to bring destruction upon the lives of the unsuspecting is illustrated in Shakespeare’s Othello with the use of both manipulation and deceit. The curse of fierce passion fell namely on Othello as he transitioned from a respected general to an unstable murderer. His downfall is demonstrated through his increasing self-doubt, lack of ability to articulate, and violence. In the start of the play, he is an accomplished general and happy newlywed, and has yet to be significantly held back due to his being a Moor and outsider in Venetian society. As passion overtakes him, however, Othello truly ingrains the idea that he is less than, and those around him begin to blame his actions on the nature of his ethnicity. He has completely lost his identity to his desires and is unable to think rationally. Shakespeare juxtaposes this version of Othello with his initial composed self in Venice to demonstrate the damage of ignorance to logic and heighten the sense of tragedy. The effects of an overwhelming passion involving love, jealousy, and revenge are shown through Othello’s degradation and loss of stability.

In “Hamlet” however, this clear symmetry is replaced with a more muddled intertwinement. Rather than maintaining two relatively separate plot threads in the journeys of Lear and Gloucester, Shakespeare opts to interweave the motivations and fates of Laertes and Hamlet, using their conflict as the central dynamic, while their parallels take a reduced role. In this sense, while King Lear is driven solely by the dualism of the story, Hamlet relies on the clash of the two plots to suggest injustice. This injustice, through conflict, is shown most prominently in Hamlet’s and Laertes’ duel at the end of the play. Hamlet, describing Laertes as a “a very noble youth.” (5.1.231), reveals a respect towards his foe that suggests that it is circumstance, not choice, that forces his hand. Similarly, Laertes’ singular goal, “To this point I stand, that both the worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged most thoroughly for my father.” (4.5.151-154) shows that his wrath is fueled solely by duty, such that his pursuit of revenge imparts upon him a single-minded myopia that drives him inexorably towards the final conflict. Ironically, upon meeting Claudius after hearing of his father’s death, Laertes asks “How came he

Shakespeare is known for his use of recurring themes throughout his work, including love, death and betrayal. These themes are present in his work of Othello. However, the most fundamental issue is jealousy. The lives of the characthers in Othello are ruined by jealousy from the beginning to the end of the play. The telling of the story is carried out by passion, jealousy, and death. Shakespeare’s Othello reveals devastating tragic inevitability, stunning psychological depth, and compelling poetic depth; the fragility and mysterious power of love, as well as demons of doubt, and how suspicion can be triggered by manipulative villain (Barthelemy 12).

Othello’s elegant and self-absorbed speech reveals his hubris, thus disrupting the chain of being. Othello’s frequent change in his tone of voice, during his speech, shows his authority and confidence. We hear this in his sarcastic statement of “Rude am I in my speech…” This sarcasm contradicts Othello’s confidence in himself, heard in his changing tone, emphasizing the tragic hero’s hubris. His elegance of speech is emphasized through constant pauses which allow the internal audience to absorb and contemplate his words. The silence after he says “True, I have married her…”, emphasizes his statement and manipulates the internal audience to believe his words. The ‘magic’ in Othello’s language puts him into a position of power which diminishes the authority of the Duke, disrupting the chain of being.

In Othello by WIlliam Shakespeare, we follow the life of an African American male, who is the lead commander of Cyprus military unit. He was a very respected man and soldier though unbeknownst to him, was a victim of a spiralling love tragedy. Iago, his ancient who acts as his trusted friend, secretly despises him due to not being promoted to Othello’s personal lieutenant, leading him to commit a murder most foul. Moving along we are informed of Othello’s relationship with the daughter of Brabantio, a rich important figure in Venice, a senate, who learns of the secret relationship and tries to separate the two, believing that she was bewitched. Desdemona lets it be

Othello’s most tortured speeches (3.4.57-77, 4.2.49-66) reveal the extent to which he equates the seemingly betraying woman he has so depended on for happiness with his own mother, who gave Othello’s father a handkerchief and threatened him with loss of her love if he should lose it. (226)

    The meaningful term “love” can be applied to differing relationships in Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello. In this essay let us examine under a microscope the “love” that we find throughout the play.

“How would a modern audience view this play in a different way to an audience in Shakespeare’s time, particularly in relation to the role and status of women and attitudes to marriage and courtship?

   The Shakespearean tragedy Othello contains a number of themes; their relative importance and priority is debated by literary critics. In this essay let us examine the various themes and determine which are dominant and which subordinate.

“The course of true love never did run smooth,” comments Lysander of love’s complications in an exchange with Hermia (Shakespeare I.i.136). Although the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream certainly deals with the difficulty of romance, it is not considered a true love story like Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare, as he unfolds the story, intentionally distances the audience from the emotions of the characters so he can caricature the anguish and burdens endured by the lovers. Through his masterful use of figurative language, Shakespeare examines the theme of the capricious and irrational nature of love.

Shakespeare’s work is among the hardest to read because of its supposed complexity and sophistication. The language used in the Early Modern Era is different than that of the Post Modern Era. Audiences that saw the performances were aural learners and were able to pinpoint certain tones and facial expressions that readers may not detect through words. Watching the plays performed provided better feedback than readings do (Palfrey 10-11). Metaphors, implicit or explicit, are figures of speech that help compare two unlike things and are not designed for literal intake. Yet, with Shakespeare’s work, metaphors should be taken literally. According to George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, however, this technique of comparison allows metaphors to simultaneously highlight and hide certain attributes and/or qualities about the thing(s) being compared to (12-13). The highlighting and hiding of metaphors gives readers more insight into what Shakespeare may have meant at the time or even more so in what context did the people of the Elizabethan Age use language (Palfrey 11). Two important components of metaphors that do the highlighting and hiding are the vehicle and the tenor; each can be implicit or explicit as well. The metaphor in question emphasizes both the importance and unimportance of Lavinia’s character.

Othello is one of the greatest plays due to its variety of character and themes. The immorality seen in Iago, the gullibility in Othello, and the desperation of Desdemona make the story. The theme of social status plays a huge role in the story. In addition, the theme of appearance versus reality also plays a huge role in how each tragedy happens. In the critical essay “Othello” it discusses the idea that the characters are cast as outsiders due to false interpretation of what is happening or what is being said. On the other hand, the piece “Othello Character Analysis” emphasizes how characterization reflects the greatness of the piece.

Within this play, fundamental questions about humanity, as well as situations, attitudes, and problems that continue to hold strong universal meaning to this day are explored .It shows Shakespeare’s ability to create characters who resemble real life individuals and reflect lifestyles and personalities accurately.  You could not help but be moved by the dark despair and utter wretchedness of Othello’s downfall! Shakespeare has dramatically explored many aspects of the human condition in this play, The Tragedy of

In particular, the most dynamic character in the play is King Leontes of Sicilia. In the beginning, Leontes believes in the self-assumed belief that his wife, Queen Hermione, is having affairs with his childhood friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia. This belief was conspired by Leontes when he requested Hermione to convince Polixenes to prolong his visit in Sicilia after he himself had failed. When she did succeed, Leontes became “diseased” with jealousy and came to the assumption that Hermione and Polixenes have a “special” relationship together. With the authorial power he possesses as king, he sentenced his pregnant wife to prison for adultery. Though Hermione persists that he is wrong and there is a misunderstanding, Leontes, however, denies everything she says. In this, Leontes is seen as a stubborn tyrant who abuses his divine power as king to treat his wife as a lower being. He denies her right to speak and punishes her severely. Leontes says:

In William Shakespeare Hamlet and Othello, the author creates two similar yet vastly different protagonists. The major source of contrast lies within each characters approach to decision making and premeditated action. As David Nichol Smith puts it, Hamlet “is not a character marked by strength of will or even passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment.”(Smith 288) This very refinement of thought is what characterizes both Hamlet’s indecision and forces him to act when he renounces indecision. In contrast